Call for New Media Supply Chain

Procter & Gamble Chief Brand Officer Marc Pritchard called for the creation of an entirely new media supply chain to address the significant challenges facing the industry in transparency, brand safety and privacy.

“Rather than calling for more retrofitting and clean-up, I’d like to offer a new approach,” Pritchard said in a presentation at the annual ANA Media Conference in Orlando, FL.  “It’s time to create a new media supply chain.  It’s time to invest our brainpower into an ecosystem that builds IN quality, civility, transparency, privacy, and control – from the very start.  A new media supply chain that levels the playing field and operates in a way that is clean, efficient, accountable, and properly moderated – for everyone involved.”

Pritchard, who is also the ANA chairman, said that while strides have recently been made to make media more transparent and safer for brands, those efforts have proven insufficient for marketers.

“Digital media continues to grow exponentially, and with it, a dark side persists, and in some cases, has gotten worse,” he told more than 650 conference attendees.  “Waste continues to exist from lack of transparency and fraud.  Seven out of 10 consumers say ads are annoying, and ad blocking is accelerating.  Privacy breaches and consumer data misuse keeps occurring.  Unacceptable content continues to be available and is still being viewed alongside our brands.”

He said P&G has created a roadmap consisting of five steps designed to create the future and urged attendees and all marketers to adopt them as their own.

“I’m sharing openly for any and all to reapply because we want to compete through creativity and superiority in products, packaging, communications, retail execution, and value – not spend more time or energy on clean-up,” he said.

1. ELEVATE QUALITY.  He urged marketers to partner with companies and buy media from places where the content quality is known, controlled, and consistent with a company’s values.  They should seek content that accurately and realistically portrays people of all genders, races, sexualities, abilities, ages and cultures.  In the new media supply chain, marketers should invest in places where brands are proven safe, where the content is known and controlled, and where there is third party measurement, auditing and accountability.

2. PROMOTE CIVILITY.  Pritchard said that productive standards of decorum are essential in the new media supply chain because while free speech is a right, civility is a responsibility.  Marketers need partners who handle editorial comments in a way that creates a balanced and constructive discourse. A full range of opinions and productive discussions are welcome, but in the new media supply chain, marketers should work with those companies that demonstrate they are using their voices on their platforms in a civil and responsible way.

3. LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD.   Most media companies are close to delivering a base level of transparency, but Pritchard said it is time to raise the bar to deliver transparency through measurement across all media platforms.  One solution is a tag that can be placed on all ads, for all formats across digital and TV, which is used to control ad frequency and de-duplicate impressions.  The MRC has published recommended standards and is asking for comments.   Pritchard encouraged the attendees to adopt these standards to achieve cross-platform media transparency and eliminate the excess ads that annoy consumers and the associated spending waste.

4. SIMPLIFY PRIVACY.  Consumer data is a foundation for how marketers do business today, and a foundation for consumer trust is how marketers handle privacy.  P&G is seeking ONE common privacy standard across the United States. Pritchard said P&G is actively working with the Privacy for America coalition, including the four major trade associations who are uniting to align our industry, and seeking national legislation that puts the consumer at the center.   

5. TAKE CONTROL.  Marketers must take control of their own destiny.  P&G is gathering consumer data on their own platforms and using it to accelerate performance analytics, hiring their own data scientists, reducing media waste and increasing media reach.  The company is also reinventing agency models to bring more media planning and buying in-house while discerning what work should be done by P&G, versus work done externally.

“The ANA fully supports Marc’s vision and call to action” said ANA CEO Bob Liodice. “His framework is completely consistent with ANA’s mission and leadership agenda as outlined in ANA’s Masters Circle initiative.

Specifically, Liodice said ANA is actively pursuing:

•     Governance of the measurement community, tighter measurement standards, and increased  data transparency
•     Scrubbing the digital media supply chain via process simplification, elimination of fraud and enhanced brand safety
•     Powerful consumer engagement through the new privacy paradigm and innovative, creative, and purposeful connections through brands
•     Public recognition of the industry’s values of gender equality, inclusion and sustainability.

“These positions reflect marketers’ increased commitment to taking control to pursue an ambitious brand and business growth agenda, as articulated by the ANA’s Global CMO Growth Council” said Liodice.